I once complained online about the daily balance parents are forced to strike between their kids’ lives and their own. A fellow parent responded succinctly: Parenting is overrated.
Hmm. If I really weigh the pros and cons, do I think it’s all worth it? Or is parenting overrated?
We already know parents are overrated. But that much is obvious; in many ways we aren’t as important to our kids as we think we are. The question of whether parenting is overrated for the parent is a little trickier.
Using the age-old technique of listing pros and cons, I’m going to attempt to break it down. I … [Read more...]

It’s fun to make predictions secure in the knowledge that no one will call you on your bullshit. Well, screw you, Daily Parent. I found your Parenting Trends to Watch for in 2015 and WOW -- WHAT A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT!
The author started off slow, hoping we wouldn’t notice, with mindful consumption and mindful parenting. Basically, it's two ways of saying the same thing: “Put your damn phone down and pay attention to your kid!” Looking around the playground, as well as in the mirror (or at least the shiny reflection from my phone), I’m going to go out on a limb and say this trend did not catch … [Read more...]

A parent starts from scratch every day and runs until empty, hoping he has done something right, that one of his lessons actually sticks.
But he won’t know for a while. Not for years. And the lack of feedback, direct or otherwise, makes the job even harder, making it very easy to succumb to self-doubt.
This is why judgment from other parents is so obnoxiously redundant. Every decent parent already constantly questions his own parenting.
Here is a small sampling of the questions that run through nearly every parent’s head nearly every single day:
Am I doing this right?
Am I … [Read more...]